SHILLONG, SEP 12: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday assured that the state government has no plans to assume control of all deficit shools or discontinue the grant-in-aid support they receive.
According to him, the proposed Meghalaya Education Grant (MEG) is still under discussion and the government is open to feedback and tweaking the framework to make it more effective.
“The government’s intention is not to disturb anybody. We would like the status quo to continue but different schools with different demands keep coming to us. Therefore it is very complicated for us to come up with one solution to fit everybody. Some schools want provincialization and had written to us but on the other hand some schools wants the deficit partern to continue. We have been clear in all issues that are before us that we believe in dialogue, in consultation, in discussion and that is exactly what we are doing right now,” Sangma said while replying to a supplementary query raised by VPP legislator from Nongkrem Ardent Basaiawmoit on the government’s stance regarding deficit schools.
“We have no intention to bulldoze , no intention to take all schools or stop deficit patterns. However since demands have come to us, it is duty of the government to examine and explore and based on this, discussion is taking place (on MEG),” he said while putting to rest the confusion and emphasizing the need for reform to streamlined the education sector in order to have lesser categories of schools.
“The MEG is not something we have been implementing, we have frame and we are discussing
there is no question of bulldozing we are engaging in dialouge and taking feedback from the schools,” Sangma further added.
On the government’s efforts to improve infrastructure in government schools and colleges, the chief minister said that there were over 2500 schools which are in dilapidated condition and close to Rs 1000 crore has been spent so far, and only 500 schools are left to be completed.
He announced that the government plans to extend support to government-aided schools, including deficit and ad-hoc schools, for infrastructure improvement.
“When most of government schools and colleges are done, we are examining very seriously on how our next step to provide infrastructure support to government aided schools but I cannot say it will start immediately as I would first like to complete the (infrastructure improvement) government schools,” Sangma said.
The chief minister noted that enhancing ad-hoc and deficit grants would have a significant financial impact, requiring an additional Rs 200-300 crore.
The government is aware of the demands but needs to consider the financial implications before making a decision.
“Currently, on a rough estimate government of Meghalaya is spending close to Rs 600 crore for salaries on government institutes including lower primary, upper primary, secondary, higher secondary and colleges. It must have gone up a bit in past few months. However, the government is spending over Rs 1100 crore for releasing of Grant in Aid to the private institutes which are aided by the government that include SSA, deficit and adhoc schools every year. It is a good thing because that’s what keep education vibrant. We have seen financial impact on those additional grant will be minimum additional 200-300 crore. it is a big decision we have to take before we move forward,” he stated.
Regarding the issue of deductions from teachers’ salaries, the Chief Minister assured that the education department is working on resolving the issue. The matter is being examined, and instructions are being issued to ensure that the issue is handled properly.
Earlier in his reply, Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma has confirmed that the government will not stop salary support to deficit schools.
He however said some schools and colleges have requested autonomy, while others have demanded provincialization.
“The government is examining both demands,” he added.
According to him, there are 3361 lower primary schools, 881 upper primary schools, 2363 secondary schools, and 186 higher secondary schools under the deficit system.
He said that the government supports the salary expenditure of these schools, while the School Management Committees (SMCs) are responsible for other expenses.
Earlier, SMCs required prior approval from the education department for recruitment of teachers in deficit schools.
“However, this order has been changed, and SMCs now have the power to go ahead with recruitment following the roster system,” he said.
The minister also acknowledged that many government lower primary schools in rural areas are non-performing due to a lack of teachers and low enrollment.
“The government has undertaken a rationalization exercise to shift teachers from zero-enrollment schools to higher-enrollment schools,” he said while adding that the government is examining ways to improve non-performing schools and is working to shift SSA teachers to government schools to address the shortage of teachers.
